Auto license buckle



Patented Apr. 1, 1924.

MTE Sfera RALPH U. G. JEANN'IOTTE AND ROBERT A.' DE JIONTIGNY,

Ol? NASHUA, NEVI AUTO LICENSE BUCKLE.

Application led July '7, 1923. Serial No. 659,099.

To all lwko/m, if may conce/m.'

Be it known that we, RALPH U. Gr. JEAN- Norrn and ROBERT A. DE llloN'riGNY, citizens of the United States, and residents of Nashua, in the county of Hillsborough and ISitate of N ew Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Auto License Buckles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for enabling a person to have, in an always quickly accessible position for reference, such an article as an automobile license, a lodge membership identification7 or other small device access to which may be desirable at various v times; and the invention has particular reference to buckles, especially belt buckles, provided with a cavity or pocket, and al container removably fitting such cavity and adapted to removably hold such license or other small device.

An important feature of the invention resides in the fact that a person can, while having one hand employed in some other occupation such as controlling the steering wheel of an automobile, employ the other hand in removing the container from the cavity of the buckle and passing it to the oficer who may inquire for it. Since a belt buckle is always worn at the front of the waist, no time need be lost in locating the desired article. And in case of accident, if the wearer is injured, there is practically no liability of the article (identication or other piece of paper) becoming so separated from the wearer that its utility is gone.

The invention consists in the combination with or addition to any suitable form or style of buckle, of a cavity as a part of the buckle, and a container which is removable from the cavity and adapted to carry with it, when removed, a piece of paper such as an automobile license or other device, the device usually being folded when it is the size of an automobile license.

Of the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a. perspective view of one form of complete buckle including our invention. Figure 2 represents a longitudinal section 50 of the same.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the container or carrier removed from the buckle and holding a folded piece of paper.

Similar reference characters designate similar parts in al1 of the views.

l2 as by trated, comprises a strip 2O lia-ving an in-A wardly bent end 21 to receive and grip so as to retain hold of aI folded piece of paper or other device which is to be accessible for examination, such folded piece of paper being indicated at a. The strip 20 is illustrated in Figure 3 as slightly curved from end to end. This ensures frictional retention of the carrier or container in the cavity between the pla-tes 17, 12, even if no folded piece of paper is in the cavity.

The tip of the strip 20 is bent upward to form a lip 22 which, when the carrier is in the cavity or pocket of the buckle, extends slightly above the plane of the surface of the face plate 17.

The cavity or pocket of the buckle comprises the space between the plates 12 and 17 and when the plate 12 is slightly curved, as illustrated, the pocket as a whole is less thick at its mid-length than at its bottom or mouth. This feature has a function when the device in the carrier is a folded piece of paper because the folds in the paper usually cause the device to be thicker at its inner end than elsewhere. Therefore, when such device is pushed way in, the thicker portion of the folded paper passes the thinner portion of the pocket and is less liable to slip out than if the pocket were of uniform thickness.

In use, if an automobilist wearing one of our improved buckles with his license in the carrier is accosted by an officer, he simply engages a finger nail with the lip 22 and pulls the carrier or container out and hands it to the oiiicer. Said carrier or container retains its hold of the folded license or other paper so that only the officer needs to liandle the paper itself. The owner does not have to un-do the buckle either to remove the carrier 0r to restore it to the buckle pocket.

And instead of employing two paper or article which is to be exhibited, he

can leave one hand otherwise occupied. lf

- in doubt as to Whether the accoster is an oiiieer, he can keeQ one hand on his gun if he has one, and still pass his license carrier and the license over. And he can pass the carrier and iicense over Without stopping driving his car, it' such performance seems desirable and permissible.

Having now described our invention7 We claim: l

l. A belt buckle having a continuous face plate and an inner plate spaced therefrom, the space between said plates being open at one end, and a container removably itting said space and normally retained therein solely by friction, said container comprising a strip or" resilient metal doubled at its inner end to grip and retain hold of an article to be exhibited.

2. A belt buckle having a pocket with a closed front face open` at one end and of less cross area at its mid-width than at its ends, the open end of the pocket being {iaring and a container removably fitting said pocket, said container comprising a strip of resilient metal doubled at its inner end to grip and retain hold of an article to be exhibited after removal of the container from seid pocket.

ln testimony Whereo'frvve have ailixed our signatures.

RALPH U. Gr. 'ENNOTTE ROBERT A. DE MONTIGNY. 

